It seems,that for some reason, Disney is dead set on re-doing a live-action version of every major motion picture they have ever done. The latest in this sequence being Pinocchio, starring Tom Hanks as Geppetto. Even though it is a fairly good rendering, I fail to see how this live action version is any better than the original. The story follows the original animated story almost exactly with the exception of 2 new characters–a seagull named Sofia, and another puppeteer named Fabiana. Other than these two new characters and a slightly different ending (spoiler alert) where Pinocchio is not transformed into a “real boy”, it is basically exactly the same as the original version only with humans and a few more songs.
One starts to wonder, what is the benefit of live-action films? Why the immense desire to keep re-doing old classics? The one thing I think it does is shine light on these classics that many of the younger generation doesn’t know. It also in some instances, like Dumbo, lets Disney re-create the narrative of their former storylines to fit in with society’s ever-changing values and morality.
For example, some of the practices that were allowed as “normal” when these films originally debuted are now quite taboo and seen in a negative light. By “re-doing” them in a live-action setting I believe that Disney is attempting to right their wrongs so to speak. Personally, I don’t feel a huge attachment to any of the live-action films that have come out so far; Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Dumbo, Lady and the Tramp, Mulan, Aladdin, and now Pinocchio.
In my opinion Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast were probably the best in the repertoire. Pinocchio was hard to feel incredibly attached to because although Geppetto and Lampwick are actual human beings, Pinocchio is still a CGI puppet, and Jiminy Cricket as well as Honest John and other characters are all CGI as well. So it didn’t feel like true “live-action” to me. More a blend of CGI and a few human actors. Probably our favorite part of the film was the different rendition of Monstro. In the original film Monstro is just a huge whale, but in this telling Monstro is a true sea-monster that is part whale and part beast and the CGI is actually quite good. It’s still a cute family film, but I think the original is just as cute. In the end it simply comes down to personal choice and opinion, and if you prefer watching humans and CGI vs. old-school animation, because all in all the story is the same. Next up Disney will be releasing The Little Mermaid and it does look somewhat promising as more of a stand-alone film, but I guess we will see!
